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November 19 in Yankee History

Righthander Stan Bahnsen won the American League Rookie of the Year Award on November 19, 1968, in a down time for the Yankees franchise. The “Bahnsen Burner” posted a 17-12 mark that year with a minuscule 2.05 era. It was particularly gratifying to a fanbase accustomed to a winning ballclub that had finished 10th out of 10 two years earlier. It was what New York was hoping for ever since Bahnsen was a late-season callup back in 1966. Stan had shown some promise, as he struck out the side in Fenway Park.

It thankfully was just a formality and gave him more time to consider his future options when Andy Pettitte filed for free agency on November 19, 2009. Shortly, Andy would sign for another year in Pinstripes. He had a great, though injury-marred, 2010 season.

Eric Karros is the only other November 19 Rookie of the Year presentee, winning his for the Dodgers on that day in 1992.

Former Yankee All Star outfielder Hank Bauer was named Manager of the Baltimore Orioles on November 19, 1963. He did quite well, posting a 407-318 win-loss record over five years and winning the Championship in 1966. Hank had hit 158 home runs with 654 rbi’s playing in the Bronx for 11 years, and he was sent to Kansas City in the trade that brought Roger Maris to New York. Bauer would eventually be replaced in Baltimore by Hall of Fame Manager Earl Weaver.

The Yankees named Bucky Dent manager at AAA Columbus on November 19, 2002. Dent would lead the Clippers to second, first, and third-place finishes in the International League West Division the next three years.

Cincinnati’s Joe Morgan is the first of five November 19 Most Valuable Player Award winners, all from the National League. Joe won by an overwhelming margin in 1975; Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt joined Stan Musial and Roy Campanella (born on this day, see below) when he became a three-time winner in 1986; Barry Bondsoutpointed teammate Bobby Bonilla of the Pirates on this day in 1990; and on November 19, 2001, Barry Bonds became the first player in history to win the award four times while playing for the Giants. Then Bonds won it again this day in 2003, and in 2004 he copped his seventh. The latter awards may be tainted, but certainly not the earlier one with the Pirates.

Although it was fun to have him around on the Yankee periphery, I was glad to see that Oakland signed free agent lefthander (so listed in Transactions, but actually ambidextrous) Pat Venditte to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training on November 19, 2014, because I [rightfully] expected that it would lead to Pat getting a shot in the bigs. Venditte posted a 2-2 mark with the A’s in 26 games, and was claimed by the Blue Jays in October 2015.

On November 19, 2010, the Yankees released righty reliever Jonathan Albaladejo and, in some off-season bookkeeping, the club called up righthanders Dellin Betances and Ryan Pope from the AA Trenton Thunder, and third baseman Brandon Laird from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

In one of those trades that look incomprehensible with hindsight, the Dodgers shipped righty Pedro Martinez to the Expos on November 19, 1993, for second baseman Delino DeShields.

Nolan Ryan had already won 167 games and thrown four of his seven career no-hitters by the time he was signed by the Houston Astros to a four-year contract as a reentry free agent after eight years with the California Angels on November 19, 1979.

Players Who Have Died This Day

Two of the three Yankee players to have died on November 19 earn the distinction because they played with the 1901-1902 AL Baltimore Orioles team that would be relocated to New York as the Highlanders in 1903. Righty-hitting southpaw Crese Heismann (1951) ended his career by losing all three of the games he pitched (all starts) for the 1902 Orioles. His 1901-1902 stop with the Reds bring his career mark to 2-5-0. Also a lefty thrower, Frank Foreman (1957) also ended his big-league play in Baltimore, throwing 26 games (24 starts) for the 1901-1902 teams. The 12-8-1 record there balloons to 96-93-4 after adding in his 1884-1901 time, during which he pitched much of the time with the NL Baltimore team (three years), the Senators (two years), and the Reds (two years). Finally, catcher Fred Hofmann (1964) debuted by playing 213 games for the 1919-1925 Yankees. He hit seven home runs and drove in 53 runs on 133-for-594 hitting, then added 40 rbi’s (93 in all) with the 1927-1928 Red Sox.

The lone noteworthy nonYankee player who died on November 19 is righthander Frank Mountain (1939), who won 58 games, lost 78, and saved one pitching mostly for the Colts and the Alleghenies (two years each) from 1880-1886.

Players Born This Day

Two of the four Yankees born November 19 have recognizable names, but we’ll start with the two that don’t. Lefty-hitting outfielder Bill Bailey (1881) appeared in a big league uniform only for the 1911 Highlanders, playing two of his five games in the outfield and one at third base, and managing one hit and one run scored in his nine at bats.

But catcher Joe Glenn‘s (1908) longer tenure featured a debut in the Bronx, where he smacked one homer and drove in 56 from 1932 through 1938. Glenn finished up his career playing one year each for the Browns and the Red Sox. Joe also caught when Babe Ruth pitched for the last time, in 1933. The Yanks traded Glenn with Myril Hoag to the St. Louis Browns for Oral Hildebrand and Buster Mills in October 1938.

Shortstop Everett Scott (1892) knocked in 173 runs and stroked 13 homers for the 1922-1925 teams, after eight years in Boston, and before completing the ’25 season with the Senators. He split 1926 playing for both the White Sox and the Reds. When Lou Gehrig played his 1,308th consecutive game in August of 1933, it was Scott’s record that he broke, and Everett stands alone in third place in consecutive games played to this day, behind Cal Ripken, Jr., and the Yankees’ Iron Horse. Scott led American League shortstops in fielding average for eight straight seasons (1916-23). He went to the Yankees eight years later as Roger Peckinpaugh‘s replacement when he was acquired with Joe Bush and Sam Jones in December 1921 for Peckinpaugh, Jack Quinn, Rip Collins, and Bill Piercy. Scott was purchased by the Washington Senators in June 1925.

The other Yankee birthday is righthander Dickie Noles (1956), who signed with the Yanks after long stints with the Phillies and Cubs, but Noles never played with the Bombers in a regular-season game. He signed with New York in December 1988, and was released the following October. An effective starter early and reliever later in his career, his 36-53 record with 11 saves is largely a product of his having toiled with very poor teams.

A Yankee draft choice, lefty-hitting John-Ford Griffin (1979) notched two home runs and nine rbi’s with Toronto in 2005 and 2007. He was involved in a three-way trade in July 2002 in which the Yanks sent Griffin, Jason Arnold, and Ted Lilly to Oakland. The Athletics sent Jeremy Bonderman (who was named later), Carlos Pena, and Franklyn German to the Tigers. The Yanks received Detroit starter Jeff Weaver.